Refrigerator car ice basket



Dec. 6, 1938. E AN E 2,139,536

REFRIGERATOR CAR ICE BASKET Filed Nov. 6, 1936 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Dec. 6,1938. E. ZANE 2,139, 36

REFRIGERATOR CAR ICE BASKET Filed Nov. 6, 1936 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 & @J

imam.-

Patented Dec. 6, 1938 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE REFRIGERATOR CAR ICEBASKET Application November 6, 1936, Serial No. 109,450

4 Claims.

The ice basket of the present invention is designed as an improvement onthe invention described and claimed in the O'Connor Patent, No.1,826,814, of October 13, 1931, and has particular reference to a shelfhinged at an intermediate position within the ice basket, whereby whendesired the ice capacity of the basket may be reduced to accommodate alesser charge of ice than is ordinarily required.

In the transportation of some perishables such as fresh meat, it isordinarily necessary to use the full capacity of the ice basket andsalt, but in the handling of certain fruits and vegetables, only alimited amount of refrigeration is required, and in such circumstancesthe means provided by the present invention make it possible to reducethe ice capacity and at the same time retain the ice in the mostdesirable position to secure its refrigerating effect.

Further objects and details will be apparent from a description of theinvention in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein,

Figure 1 is a cross sectional elevation of a refrigerator car showingthe arrangement of the ice bunker at one end of the car and with icebaskets located therein having embodied the features of the presentinvention;

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of one of the ice baskets;

Fig. 3 is a fragmental sectional elevation showing in detail the hingedshelf which more particularly forms the subject matter of the presentinvention;

Fig. 4 is a cross sectional View of the basket showing the shelf inlowered position; and

Fig. 5 is an enlarged detail of the same.

The ice basket is of foraminous construction, and as shown is in theform of a vertically elongated rectangular structure composed of amultiplicity of vertical wires and surrounding horizontally extendingwires II. The wires are united at the points of intersection by welding,soldering, or in any other suitable manner. This gives to the basket asa whole a mesh construction of sufiicient strength and rigidity toafford a foraminous container for a charge of ice, and when the basketis employed to full capacity the ice charge will fill the basket fromthe bottom to the top. As shown in Fig. 4, the floor of the basket islikewise afforded by cross wires l2 and I3 which traverse one another.

The basket is supported a short distance above the floor of the car inany suitable manner which permits the air to circulate freely around thesides and bottom of the basket and to flow therefrom beyond the confinesof the bunker and into the interior of the car in a manner wellunderstood in the art.

The basket of the present invention, at a point at or near its middle,is provided with a shelf or partition which as shown comprises arectangular outer wire frame l4 having dimensions slightly less than theinterior cross dimensions of the basket to permit the shelf to fitfreely therein, and to the frame [4 are secured the ends of amultiplicity of traversing cross wires l5 and [6, which are suitablyconnected to one another at their points of contact, and to the frameitself by welding, soldering, or any other suitable means of attachment.This gives to the shelf the same foraminous construction as that of thebasket, and permits the shelf when lowered into horizontal transverserelation to the walls of the basket to serve as an elevated fioor forconfining the ice charge to the upper portion only of the basket,thereby reducing the capacity of the basket to the requirements of apartial icing of the car. The shelf when lowered is supported on itsfour sides by angle bars l1, l8, I9 and 20, the vertical flanges ofwhich are rigidly secured to the adjacent wall of the basket with thehorizontal flanges inwardly projecting to afiord the necessary support.

The frame of the shelf adjacent the angle bar I8 is hinged by theprovision of L-shaped bolts 2|, the heads 22 of which engage withnotches 23 cut in the inner edges of the angle bar l8, the bolts attheir outer ends being entered through exterior fiat plates 24 whichabut against the vertical wires of the basket, with nuts 25 on the outerends of the bolts to hold the same in the intended position. By thisarrangement the bolts are hooked over the edge of the frame and serve tohold the same in confined relation between the angle bar l8 and thebolts, thereby affording a hinge which permits upswinging of the shelfinto vertical relation to the side wall of the frame, as indicated indotted lines at the left of Fig. 3.

The frame of the shelf upon its opposite edge is provided with a latch26 which, when the shelf is lifted, is adapted to hook over a lock plate21 at the proper level on the frame, as indicated in dotted lines inFig. 3. In order to better accommodate the latch, which is pivoted uponthe shelf frame, the angle bar I! is divided at its center into twosections, which affords the necessary clearance and thus allows theshelf frame when lowered to rest evenly and firmly upon the angle barson all sides of the basket.

The top of the wire basket is open for the reception of the ice which isdelivered through a hatchway 28, and from this position it is easy tosecure access to the interior of the basket or baskets located belowsaid hatchway, which enables the man in charge of the icing to easilyraise or lower the shelf as occasion may require. The latch shown is agravity latch, so that by lifting the shelf to vertical position it willeasily latch itself and remain in that position until the latch isreleased and the shelf allowed to fall into the horizontal positionwhere it is supported with sufficient rigidity to afford a floor orsupport for the limited quantity of ice required in the partial icing ofthe car.

The angle bars upon which the shelf is supported serve an additionalfunction in reinforcing the walls of the basket at the base of the uppercompartment afforded by the shelf when lowered, and the structure as awhole is one which may be easily employed in connection with haskets ofstandard construction and without any alteration in the interiorarrangement of the ice bunkers of the car. By locating the shelf in themanner stated, the partial charge of ice will be maintained .at a highlevel, so that the refrigerating effect of the downflowing cold air willbe most advantageously realized under conditions where partial icingonly is required.

I claim:

1. A removable ice basket for refrigerator cars or the like, ofrectangular form and having foraminous walls on each of its four sides,and hav-' ing at an intermediate position an inwardly projectingsupporting member secured to each of said walls, and a rectangularforaminous shelf hinged at one edge to the adjacent wall of the basketand adapted when lowered to horizontal position to rest upon saidsupporting members along each of its four edges and adapted whenelevated to stand in parallel adjacent relation to the basket wall towhich the shelf is hinged.

2. A removable ice basket for refrigerator cars or the like, ofrectangular form and having foraminous walls, and having at anintermediate position inwardly projecting supporting members secured tosaid walls, a foraminous shelf hinged at one edge to the adjacent wallof the basket and adapted when lowered to horizontal position to restupon said supporting members and adapted when elevated to stand inparallel adjacent relation to the basket wall to which the shelf ishinged, a gravity latch pivoted to ,the free edge of the shelf and meanson the wall adapted when the shelf is elevated to be engaged by thelatch to hold the shelf in elevated relation.

3. A removable ice basket of rectangular shape for refrigerator cars,having four rectangular side walls and a floor, the side walls and floorbeing formed by vertical and horizontal wires traversing one another andthe basket as a whole being adapted to be inserted into and standvertically within the ice bunker of a refrigerator car and above thefloor of the car, a ledge of angle iron formation, the vertical flangesof which bear against and are se 'ured to the wire side walls of thebasket near the vertical center thereof and the horizontal flanges ofwhich project inwardly from each of the side walls, a shelf comprising arectangular surrounding frame and cross wires secured thereto, the shelfbeing of proper dimensions when lowered to horizontal position to afforda partition extending transversely across the medial portion of thebasket and being adapted when lowered to rest upon the angle flangesconstituting the ledge, means for hinging one edge of the shelf to oneside of the ledge, a gravity latch pivoted to the free edge of the shelfand means on the wall adapted when the shelf is swung upwardly to beengaged by the latch to hold the shelf in elevated relation.

4. A removable ice basket of rectangular shape for refrigerator cars,having four rectangular side walls and a floor, the side walls and floorbeing formed by vertical and horizontal wires traversing one another andthe basket as a whole being adapted to be inserted into and standvertically within the ice bunker of a refrigerator car and above thefloor of the car, a ledge of angle iron formation, the vertical flangesof which bear against and are secured to the wire side walls of thebasket near the vertical center thereof and the horizontal flanges ofwhich project inwardly from each of the side walls, a shelf comprising arectangular surrounding frame and cross wires secured thereto, the shelfbeing of proper dimensions when lowered to horizontal position to afforda partition extending transversely across the medial position of thebasket and being adapted when lowered to rest upon the angle flangesconstituting the ledge, means for hinging one edge of the shelf to oneside of the ledge, a gravity latch pivoted to the free edge of theshelf, and a lock plate secured to the wire wall of the basket above theledge and in position to be engaged by the latch when the shelf is swungupwardly.

EDWARD ZANE.

